With only 48 hours notice we diverted course and headed to France. We were slated to spend 5 days in England, but due to the bombings in London it was determined we shouldn’t go there. It was probably a decision based only partly on true safety and more on perceived safety and politics, primarily to ease the parents of the students back at home. Regardless of the reason I was looking forward to France. French is the only language besides English that I know at all. I wish I had more notice so I could have brushed up on my French, but I actually did pretty well. The most frustrating times were when I had no idea what words to use or worse was when I knew I was using all the right words, but my pronunciation was so poor that they had no idea what I was saying. It was neat when I would remember words out of the blue and to feel my French getting better each day.
The biggest challenge with the last minute change was that my partner was flying into London and had to divert course and pay extra money for a flight from London to Paris. In the long-run it was worth it. She stayed until Spain and we had a great time.
We docked in Le Harve, France an industrial port about 2 hours by train from Paris. The first day I took a train to Paris with some other RDs. We booked a hotel before we left Le Harve and headed there first to drop off our stuff. We lazed around a bit figuring out what we were doing and finally, Dayna and I headed out. We went to the Lourve thinking it was open late on Mondays and Wednesdays only to find out it was open late Wednesdays and Fridays and we were there about 15 minutes shy of closing time. So we headed back to Notre Dame Cathedral since it was open until 7pm. When we arrived mass was in session so I jumped in line for communion. I felt a little funny joining mass just in time for communion, but I think it would be OK with God. Dayna is Jewish so she wondered around with the other tourists. Mass was not very crowded, but there were a lot of people milling around the edge of the church during the service. It was a gorgeous building and actually felt holy. After Notre Dame we got an ice cream cone and walked to the Eiffel Tower. It was about an hour walk and Dayna’s feet were pretty sore by the time we got there due to her high heel shoes. That morning I was in a hurry packing my things and once we got to the train I realized I forgot my camera. By the time we got to the Eiffel Tower I was feeling pretty naked without it. I love taking photos and fortunately Dayna let me use her camera for a few cool shots of the Eiffel Tower at night. Fortunately, I was able to contact my friends on the ship who were joining us the next day and they brought my camera with them. I felt so happy when they arrived the second night with my tiny camera. Anyway, the Eiffel Tower was awesome at night.
The Eiffel Tower at night
We stood in a long line and took the elevator to the top. It was a nice view, but we should have listened to the guidebook and just gone up to the second level, the third level wasn’t much different from the first, just more crowded and windy. After the trip to the top we walked across the street to the Trocodoro for an excellent view of the whole tower and some dinner, eating at the typical French time of 10:30pm. We were back at the hotel exhausted, but happy by 1am.
The next day we slept until 9am, went downstairs for breakfast, and then Dayna and I headed to the Musee d’Orsay that houses the Impressionism and Art Noveau work. It was amazing!!! I look forward to the day I get to go back. We were there for 2 hours, but I would have been happy to spend half a day there. It was awesome and is now my favorite museum in the world. It is an old train station renovated and converted to the museum. The center section where the trains come in is a huge, open sculpture room with lots of natural light. I like the work of that time period and was feeling a bit disappointed that I didn’t have my camera to record this beautiful place. After the Musee d’Orsay we brought some bread and fruit, mango juice for lunch and went to the Jardin du Luxemburg to eat. It was a gorgeous park, but we didn’t stay long since I wanted to get back to the hotel to meet Sarah. Well of course her flight was late and she finally got there about 6pm. It was so great to see her! I had been pacing the lobby and wondering around the sidewalks wondering where she was. Next time I travel to Europe I am going to adjust my cell phone so that it works wherever I go. There were so many times throughout the trip that I wished I had a cell phone. Of course, on the other hand it was a reminder of how dependent we are on our technology. As I write this on my laptop I am sitting on the deck of the ship basking in the sun and starring out at the Atlantic. I must admit that for the most part I love technology – laptops, cell phones, iPods. They have their problems, but more benefits if you ask me.
Anyway, back to France…
Sarah I finally arrived a little late and without her luggage. It was still in Chicago, but fortunately arrived the next day. That night Sarah and I joined another RD and some students for dinner and drinks. We didn’t last very long because we were so tired, especially Sarah who was experiencing jet lag.
On day three Sarah and I went to the Notre Dame and St. Chapel. I was happy to be back with my camera and with Sarah, of course. I couldn’t convince Sarah to go to the Musee d’Orsay, but we did make it to the Lourve. At that point Sarah was tired and I was a bit sick of old art so were there for all of 90 minutes, just enough time to see the Mona Lisa and the mob in front of her, the Winged Victory, and some ancient Egyptian mummies, including a mummified cat.
The Lourve courtyard
I dragged Sarah back to the Eiffel Tower and the Trocodoro for views. We had a chocolate crepe and were too tired for dinner. We made it back to the hotel pretty late. For Sarah it was a one day whirlwind of Paris since we headed back to the ship the next morning.
Our fourth day in France was a relaxing contrast to the whirlwind tour of Paris. We took the morning train back to Le Harve (after nearly missing it), napped on the ship, then took an hour bus ride to this nearby coastal town of Etretat that has these huge rock cliffs. I saw it in a guidebook and really wanted to visit. Due to the bus schedule we only had an hour to visit, but as soon as we stepped foot on the beach we looked at each other and decided to return the next day and we did.
We returned to Le Harve in time for a wonderful dinner on the beach. We had a delicious meal of mussels and wine and wondered around the beach watching the sunset. It was a wonderful evening.
Me in Etretat, France
Sarah relaxing on the beach at Etretat, France
Le Harve, France
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